


Closing A Book

by AMidnightDreary



Series: The Witness [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mind Reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: Rumplestiltskin tries to teach Belle how to control her powers, but somehow they get distracted.





	Closing A Book

**Author's Note:**

> So, here I am again! Looks like I'm having some kind of creativity boost.  
> By the way, I'm soo about happy the positive feedback this series has gotten so far! I really didn't expect that. Every single one of your comments has made me smile, so thank you so much!

“You have to concentrate.”

“I _am_ concentrating.”

“Not enough, apparently.”

Belle stayed silent, but her eyes told him well enough that her frustration was about to turn into anger. Rumplestiltskin tried to persuade himself that that didn't matter – he had taught magic before, he could handle furious students. He still doubted that he could handle a furious Belle, though.

“See, magic wants to be unrestricted”, he tried again. “It doesn't like to be controlled. You just have to convince it otherwise.”

“Yes, you keep telling me that.”

“Really? There might be a reason for that.” He sneered, but only a little. “Maybe you should try to do as I say, just for once.”

“You didn't even give me clear instructions”, Belle exclaimed, narrowing her eyes.

“Because there _are_ no clear instructions I could give you”, he answered, unimpressed by her growing indignation. “You have to find it in yourself, dearie. Those are your powers, your _nature_. Magic works differently for everyone.”

“You said you could teach me”, she objected.

“And that I can. I have a certain talent for bringing powers to the surface.”

“That talent doesn't really show if you ask me.”

No, it didn't. He had to give her that. And Rumplestiltskin knew why – if he just treated Belle like any other student, this would be much easier. If she hadn't been Belle but, well, maybe Regina, than he would just have created a spell. Maybe some kind of alarm that went off every time she invaded his head during their lessons, sending little not all too painless jolts through _her_ head. That would have done the trick, probably.

“Oh, I dare you!”

“Afraid, are you?”, he said, not able to keep from giggling. “I wouldn't make them too painful, I promise.”

Belle just rolled her eyes. He knew that she knew that he wouldn't hurt her for anything in this world and that he was just playing another of his teasing games. He knew her well enough by now, didn't even have to touch her skin to know what was going on in that pretty head of hers. He could tell by the look in her eyes that he had somehow managed to lighten her mood, at least a little bit.

She wasn't exactly fond of these lessons, he knew that. She hated that she wasn't yet able to control her powers, hated that she disappointed him every time she tried. Rumplestiltskin didn't mind, and of course he wasn't disappointed. The main reason she did this at all was for him, to make him _happy_. That hadn't been tried for a very long time.

“Try again”, he said, but she shook her head and lifted her shoulders.

“I can't.”

“Oh, I say that you can.”

“Well, you're not in control here, Rum.”

“Oh, my”, he said, acting distraught. “I really thought I were.”

The smile that had already waited in her eyes broke through, causing Belle to grin despite herself. She even chuckled a little, and his smile became more serene.

“We can stop here, if you like”, Rumplestiltskin offered. “We've been at it for quite a while now.”

But Belle, brave, stubborn Belle, shook her head. “I want to get this right.”

“This is only our second lesson”, he reminded her. “Things like this just need their time.”

“But since they are _my_ powers, _I_ should get to decide how much time they're getting”, Belle declared. She looked into his eyes, challenging him to disagree. “That's what you've been telling me since we started.”

“Right. So, do you want to try again?”

“Yes”, she said instantly, but obviously hesitated. “I just don't know how.”

Rumplestiltskin made a pensive sound, trying to gather his thoughts. “I suppose you remember the comparison you used to describe your powers to me.”

“That it's like reading? Yes, of course.”

“Good, then...” He waved his hand. “Just close the book.”

Belle sighed. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It _is_ easy.”

“Earlier you said that such things need their time”, she countered.

“That doesn't mean they are hard, dearie.”

She frowned and shook her head, but she didn't object. “Fine. I'll try.”

“As you wish”, he said, making a flamboyant gesture. “Go ahead, then.”

She tried again. He could see the concentration in her eyes, but he already knew that it wouldn't work. The switch hadn't flipped yet. He let her try anyways, holding her gaze patiently, a smile on his lips. They were sitting on the floor of the library for what could have been a few hours. He had lost track of the time. It was rather comfortable sitting cross legged on the soft carpet like this, facing each other. Lately, they had spent much of their time in the library he had given her. Wasting their days away with talking and reading and, probably the most unbelievable thing of all, _cuddling_. Belle was in his arms more often than he could have ever dreamed, and he still longed for more, for longer and closer. Yes, always closer. He would have been embarrassed if he hadn't known that Belle felt exactly the same way. For the life of him, he didn't know _why_ she felt the same way, but she did. And who was he to disagree? He was practically dependent on her by know, and if she wanted to read and talk and cuddle all day long, he loved to comply. Even if that still frightened him to death, even if he hadn't left the castle to make deals since two weeks now and had ignored two or three summonings just to stay with her. He allowed himself to not let it matter.

“Who needs to concentrate now, hm?”

Rumplestiltskin blinked and met Belle's teasing but ever so loving gaze. He couldn't help but smile.

“You can't blame me, sweetheart – you're taking quite long, don't you think?”

“And you're just daydreaming and mocking me instead of helping, thank you very much.”

But she smiled. She always smiled at him, even if he was cross and taunting. He wanted to pull her into his arms, and he wanted to do some other things as well, things he shouldn't even be thinking of because she was still reading his mind. Her expression change. She blushed and smiled with glinting eyes which told him that he had been caught.

“It's okay”, she said, and he had already known that it was.

That was the scaring thing, maybe – that he was about to stop doubting.

He started to fidget, forcing his thoughts to wander to other things. Belle didn't probe into the topic his thoughts had brought up, and he thanked heavens for that. He didn't want to talk about what they could do and _wanted_ to do, at least not verbally. Maybe later, when she would let him hold her hand again. Being honest would be easier then.

Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, he started to search for a way to help her with her mind reading problem (which wasn't really a problem anymore). He had tried to talk her through it, but she couldn't act out his admittedly vague instructions. She didn't _feel_ her powers like he felt his. He was aware of his magic all the time, felt it tingling in his fingertips and rushing through his veins. But her mind reading was just like an additional sense for her indeed, she didn't choose to use her powers. She didn't need to, just like one didn't need to choose to see or maybe to breath. She just did, almost as if it was completely beyond her control.

But Rumplestiltskin knew that that couldn't be. Every sort of power could be controlled, because that was what power was all about. It only got out of control when the person who possesses it _lost_ control. Or when they had never known how to gain control in the first place. That might be the case with Belle's magic, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn to contain it. He just had to find a way to show her how.

“Yeah, that'd be wonderful”, Belle pulled him out of his thoughts, sounding exasperated. “Because I don't know a way. I can't _stop._ ”

“We'll get there”, he said, so much gentler than he would have been with any other student. “Don't worry.”

“I promised you that I would learn to control it”, she insisted with a sigh.

“Mhhm, maybe that's the problem.”

Belle frowned, and he could see that she was trying to follow his thoughts. He couldn't say if his mind was speaking clearly enough to her, so he started to explain vocally as well.

“You shouldn't do this just because you promised, but because you want to learn to control your powers. You have to want this for yourself, not only for – well, anybody else.”

Thinking and knowing that she was doing all this for him was one thing, saying it out loud was somehow harder. But it seemed that Belle hadn't really noticed his hesitation. She looked at him pensively, obviously pondering over his words. He leaned forward a little, resting his chin on his hands.

“ _Do_ you want this? I've said it before, you don't have to. I don't mind if -”

“No”, Belle broke him off. “No, I want to learn. It has always been exhausting to have other people's thoughts in my head.”

He quirked his brow. “But?”

She worried her lower lip, and he had to concentrate to not let his eyes linger on her mouth.

“It isn't anymore”, she said eventually. “Exhausting, I mean. You're the only one around, and you're...”

Her voice trailed off, but she didn't need to finish her sentence. He understood, of course he did. In the beginning, knowing that she could read his mind had scared him to death. In the beginning, reading his mind might have been exhausting for her, just like reading other people's minds had always been. But now, things were different.

“I don't mind”, he said again.

He didn't mind that she could read his thoughts. He didn't mind that she could feel what he felt and sometimes reacted to whatever was going on in his head or heart as if he had spoken to her out loud. It had been two weeks, two wondrous, confusing, blissful weeks, and he simply didn't mind anymore. She had accepted him, everything he was and wasn't, and he had done the same in return. He wanted her to know all that, even if he didn't dare to say it.

“I know”, Belle replied. “It's just, I – I do believe you deserve some privacy now and then.”

“Yes”, he agreed hesitantly. “That wouldn't be bad.”

“That doesn't mean I want to leave you alone”, Belle said, answering an unspoken question. “Just your mind.” Rumplestiltskin could just nod, causing Belle to chuckle. She raised her hand to give his chest a gentle nudge. “You know you're not getting rid of me that easily, right?”

“Right”, he said. “We still have a deal, after all.”

She rolled her eyes, he smiled. Somehow the word _privacy_ had connected to the image of her leaving the castle, and that she didn't want that was a relief. And she was right, a few hours now and without having to censor his thoughts might be a relief as well.

“You don't need to do that.”

“Hm?”

“You worry so much about scaring me away by thinking of things you shouldn't think of.”

He blinked and she hurried to continue.

“I don't mean that you shouldn't think of them. You just think you shouldn't think of them, but you should. I mean, if you want to. You _can_ , that's what I mean. Should I stop talking?”

“Do you think you should?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You're mocking me again.”

“I wouldn't dare.”

She smirked, and he gave his best to look smug. It certainly didn't help that his hands were fidgeting and that his mind _and_ eyes showed her probably all too clearly that he didn't feel smug at all.

“You know, I, uh...”, Belle said slowly, gently. “I think such things as well. I mean, I know that you know.”

He gulped and searched for words he could say, for anything at all, but there wasn't anything useful in his head. Because _gods_ , did he know. He knew far too much for his own good.

It wasn't unpleasant, of course. The first time he had witnessed her wondering about _intimacy_ or whatever he should call it, her thoughts had been rather vague. Nothing more than a fleeting image of dark eyes that were his and green golden skin that was also his. It had taken him a moment to recognize the feeling that had accompanied said image as desire. Yes. Desire that had made it impossible to breath for a few whole minutes. It had happened a few more times since then – her wondering how his skin would feel against hers, how his hands would feel on her body, how his lips would taste if he ever – eventually, hopefully – kissed her.

He was supposed to teach her how to control her powers, and he was doing a miserable job.

“Sorry”, Belle said, and it sounded both honest and amused. “I didn't mean to distract you.”

“I'm sure you didn't”, he said, and then he had to clear his throat because of his hoarse voice and too thick brogue.

He could see that she tried to hide her smirk. And she almost managed, but it didn't really help. Her eyes were still blazing, her cheeks were still flushed and she was so beautifully brilliant. How on earth should he concentrate like this? The urge to get closer was there again, causing his fingertips to tingle with the need to touch her skin. He had to clear his head, because really, just thinking shouldn't get him aroused like this. He was three centuries old, damn it.

He coughed a little, not able to meet Belle's eyes. Instead he tried to focus on other things, like why they were sitting on the floor of the library in the first place. Belle didn't object when he asked to continue their lesson, but that certain smile that made his insides flutter didn't fade from her lips.

He knew that his Belle was bold. Braver and just _better_ than he could ever be, in fact. And his behaviour was ridiculous. Because he was perfectly aware that Belle wouldn't reject him if he had enough courage to kiss her. She wanted that, wanted him. Him, of all people. He _knew_ that. And she could be sure that he wanted her, too, so maybe her behaviour was a little ridiculous as well. They had danced around each other for two weeks now, their little banterings and talks and cuddles showing them that this was right and perfect and gods, not enough. Closer, always closer – that was what they both wanted. Not even everything at once, just... a little bit more. But Rumplestiltskin was her first. The first man she loved, the first she would kiss, her first everything. And he was still three centuries old and hideous and _terrified_.

Gods, he was hopeless.

“Rumple?”

He swallowed and forced himself to look at Belle. She returned his gaze tenderly, of course knowing what was troubling him.

“Sorry”, he said reflexively, since listening to his panicking surely wasn't pleasant.

“Don't be”, she replied. “It's alright. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place.”

He shook his head. “No, please, it -”

He stopped because she had leaned forward to touch his hands. They looked at each other and both frowned, before lowering their eyes to look at their hands.

“Oh”, Belle said, sounding completely stunned.

“Oh, indeed”, he mumbled in return. “How did you do that?”

“I didn't do anything”, she objected. Her frown deepened even more. She practically entangled their fingers now, holding his hands carefully but firmly. But no, nothing. No sign of the connection that usually formed when they touched like this. The only thoughts he had in his head were his own.

“But you did”, Rumplestiltskin stated calmly. “You closed the book.”

“No.” She raised his eyes again to look at him, let a few seconds pass and then shook her head. “I can hear you.”

“Interesting”, he remarked. “Not exactly what we wanted to achieve, but interesting.”

“Hm.”

Belle didn't seem too happy, and he could tell why. This wasn't at all what she had wanted, and just like him she missed that particular communication that only had been possible when they touched. She shifted a little, staring at their hands as if they had insulted her. He had to chuckle which earned him a look as if _he_ had insulted her now.

“Not funny, Rumple.”

He started to caress the back of her hand. “Forgive me, sweetheart. But this is progress, don't you see that?”

“Unwanted progress, yes.”

“You can return it back to normal, I'm sure”, he said.

“How?”

“We'll figure it out.”

Belle sighed and freed her hands from his. She just knelt there for a moment with clearly crossed eyes before reaching out for his hands once more. Again, nothing.

“This is ridiculous”, she declared, groaning in frustration.

“You have created a barrier”, he assumed and shrugged. “A wall to shield your thoughts from mine, not mine from yours like you've wanted. You can tear it down again.”

Apparently she had an idea, because she started to grin at him with hopeful eyes. “You could do that for me, couldn't you?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh, no, sweetheart. I'll leave that to you.”

“Don't be unfair.”

“I'm not. I try to teach you.”

“Yes, and you should show me how it's done.”

He showed his teeth and shook his head. She rolled her eyes at him, almost pouting.

“That's evil, Rumplestiltskin.”

“You do realize who you're speaking with?”

That set her off, and she laughed. The sound widened his smile and caused his heart to flutter giddily. When she was done giggling, she returned his smile. He noticed that her eyes had started throwing sparks again.

“I have an idea”, she said, and something about her tone made him slightly leery. “But I need your help to carry it out.”

“Oh?”

She nodded slowly, stroking his hands without averting her gaze from his eyes. “May I try it?”

He realized that she was asking for permission, even if he didn't know for what. He frowned a little, but since he had come to trust her far too much, he gave in. “Well, go ahead.”

And suddenly her lips were on his.

In hindsight, he had to admit that he should have seen it coming. But he hadn't, and so he stiffened when she kissed him, eyes widening in shock. But it didn't take long until they fluttered shut just like hers had already. He barely noticed that her plan had worked, because what she felt and thought just resembled his own reaction. And so, when her presence positively crashed into him again, flooding him with everything she was, he couldn't tell anymore where his mind ended and hers began.

The kiss didn't last long, just a few seconds of a firm but gentle pressure of lips. Rumplestiltskin moved along with her when Belle tried to pull away again, just because he didn't want it to end. But she managed to break the kiss anyway, with only a few inches of air between their faces and their noses almost touching. When he opened his eyes again he stared directly into hers. Her cheeks were deliciously flushed, her red lips slightly parted. She was beautiful, and she had kissed him, and he had no idea what to do. When her hands found their way to his chest, stroking over the brocaded waistcoat, he exhaled audibly. She moved slowly, carefully watching his reaction. Her one hand stayed at his collarbone, but the other one wandered further to his neck where her fingers played with his hair for a split second. Eventually they came to rest at the back of his head. There, she applied light pressure, nothing more than a tentative request, and he leaned forward to meet her lips again.

They were warm and soft, and she _loved_ how his lips felt on hers – so much better than she had imagined – and Rumplestiltskin didn't stay stiff this time. She wished for his hands to touch her, and he complied gladly. It didn't matter that his hands were trembling when he raised them to cup her face. They moved apart again after a while, both gasping for breath. He didn't open his eyes, but he felt Belle's nose brush against his, almost fondling it. He also felt her breathing against his skin, and one ought to think that this was close enough, but they agreed that it wasn't. Belle chuckled when he laboriously uncrossed his legs so she could kneel between his legs, but the sound was replaced by a soft gasp when he kissed her again. His hands moved to her back to pull her closer, and her fingernails slightly scratched his scalp. He hissed, but Belle only feared for a brief moment that she had caused him pain. Then she was simply glad that she had gotten him to open his mouth, and soon he could feel her tongue touching his lips.

And so they sat on the floor of the library like they had for hours already, with the only difference that they were kissing now. Rumplestiltskin knew that this had already been added to their list of ways to waste their days away. It surpassed both reading and cuddling, probably. He surely didn't feel the need to do anything else anytime soon. It was new and heavenly, and Rumplestiltskin would never get enough of having Belle _everywhere_ around him. With her lips on his and her hands in his hair, that was exactly where he wanted her to be. And she wanted him like this just as much as she did, and so he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her – just because he could.

When they pulled away after eternities, he felt dizzy. He was breathing heavily, just like Belle. She had somehow ended up sitting halfway on his lap. He had twined her arms around her, holding her firmly in his embrace because he was _still_ scared she would push him away. Belle just chuckled when she picked up that thought. She briefly kissed his lips again, and then his nose and his cheek before resting her chin on his shoulder. She promised that she wouldn't push him away, that he didn't need to be afraid anymore, and in reaction he placed a kiss on her temple. She let out a sigh that was full of content, her fingers playfully tugging at his curls. They made sure to hold skin contact, and Rumplestiltskin did believe that nothing could ever be better than this.

“How did you know that would work?”, he asked, his voice rough. He could barely understand himself when his accent that usually was hidden so well got that strong, but Belle didn't seem to have any problems.

“I didn't”, she mumbled into the skin of his neck. He knew she was smiling. “I just wanted to kiss you.”

He laughed quietly, he certainly could work with that. That their connection worked again was a wonderful side effect of kissing, though.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know I have avoided the whole curse breaking thing. I just thought they deserved to kiss without such complications. Maybe I'll get back to that topic later on, though.  
> I hope you like it! As always, I'd love to hear what you think.


End file.
